Review: Complexation mechanism of organic matter and arsenic on iron-containing minerals

Arsenic pollution in groundwater is serious in many areas of the world. The interaction between arsenic, iron and organic matter has an important impact on the transformation and transportation of arsenic in groundwater. This review summarises work in three areas – namely, (a) interaction between different types of organic matter and arsenic, which forms arsenic–organic matter complexes through ligand exchange; (b) oxidation–reduction reaction of organic matter and iron-containing minerals and the formation of complexes between organic matter and iron ions; and (c) formation of ternary complexes of organic matter, arsenic and iron-containing minerals (connected by iron ion bridges) and their characterisation methods. This review has great theoretical and applied value for the discovery of the mechanism of arsenic pollution and the development of arsenic pollution control measures.